Post by Keith on Aug 12, 2019 7:06:18 GMT -6

Bankruptcies are back — flashing warnings that more Americans are knee-deep in debt in big cities like New York.

While total bankruptcy petitions nationwide by consumers and businesses are still well below Great Recession levels, analysts say there is an unmistakable trend upward.

New York state’s bankruptcy filings, for instance, have risen steadily the past three years, hitting 34,711 in 2018, up from 30,112 in 2016, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), based on data from Epiq Systems.

Post by Keith on Aug 12, 2019 7:06:59 GMT -6

Canada sheds 'disappointing' 24,200 jobs in July: analysts

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada’s economy shed a net 24,200 jobs in July, driven by a decline in wholesale and retail trade, official data showed on Friday, as Canada’s job market remained in a holding pattern for the third consecutive month.

Statistics Canada said the unemployment rate edged up to 5.7% from 5.5% in June as more people looked for work after hitting record lows earlier this year. Analysts in a Reuters poll had predicted a gain of 12,500 jobs and an unemployment rate of 5.5%.

“Clearly it’s on the disappointing side of expectations,” said BMO Chief Economist Doug Porter. “Of course, you can never read too much into any one month but this is the third setback in employment in the past five months.”

Post by Keith on Aug 13, 2019 6:32:56 GMT -6

Dow plunges close to 400 points on falling bond yields, trade war jitters

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped close to 400 points Monday afternoon over concerns that the U.S.-China trade war might be worsening and as 10-year Treasury yields continued to tumble, led lower by financial stocks.

Investors are worried President Trump's impending Sept. 1 tariff hike on more Chinese imports will scuttle talks aimed at ending their trade war.

Those fears are being somewhat offset by hopes global central banks will keep interest rates low to shore up economic growth.

Post by Keith on Aug 13, 2019 6:33:37 GMT -6

LONDON (Reuters) - A record number of fund managers in Europe have taken out protection against a sharp fall in equities and lowered their risk levels more than normal amid growing worries about the U.S.-China trade war, a key investor survey showed on Tuesday.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s latest monthly survey of European managers found the equities allocation is at a net 3% underweight and UK positioning has dropped to net 29% underweight.

Post by Keith on Aug 13, 2019 6:34:58 GMT -6

German investor morale slumps as economic outlook darkens

BERLIN (Reuters) - The mood among German investors plummeted far more than expected in August, a survey showed on Tuesday, and the ZEW institute blamed trade disputes and higher chances of a no-deal Brexit for a worsening outlook in Europe’s biggest economy.

ZEW said its monthly survey showed economic sentiment among investors fell to -44.1 from -24.5 in July, its lowest level since December 2011. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a drop to -28.5.

Germany's DAX .GDAXI hit a day's low after ZEW published the survey. The weak reading bodes ill for the German economy, which the government expects to grow by a meager 0.5% this year, and many economists expect to see a contraction in the second quarter when data is released on Wednesday.

Post by Keith on Aug 13, 2019 6:35:40 GMT -6

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Flights leaving Hong Kong were disrupted for a second day on Tuesday, plunging the former British colony deeper into turmoil as its stockmarket fell to a seven-month low, and its leader said it had been pushed into a state of “panic and chaos”.

Ten weeks of increasingly violent protests have roiled the Asian financial hub as thousands chafe at a perceived erosion of freedoms and autonomy under Chinese rule.

The protests, which China this week likened to terrorism, present President Xi Jinping with one of his biggest challenges since he came to power in 2012.

Post by Keith on Aug 13, 2019 6:37:31 GMT -6

SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) - The top shareholder and manager of Cathay Pacific Airways condemned protests in Hong Kong and vowed to follow China’s aviation regulations, after the airline suspended a second pilot on Tuesday as deepening unrest hit its operation and stock.

Cathay (0293.HK), whose strong British links make it a symbol of Hong Kong’s colonial past, has emerged as the highest-profile corporate target as Beijing looks to quell protests in the territory that have gone on for ten straight weeks.

Shares in the Hong Kong flag carrier sunk to a 10-year low, hit by concerns that Beijing could slap further sanctions on the airline, causing more damage to its brand.

Post by Keith on Aug 13, 2019 6:38:17 GMT -6

Steinhoff looks to sell off assets after $7 billion accounting fraud

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Scandal-hit South African retailer Steinhoff (SNHJ.J) said on Tuesday its only hope for survival is to sell off assets to become a retail-focused investment holding firm, as it fights to contain the fallout of a $7 billion accounting fraud.

The company has been making losses of up to $4 billion a year since it initially flagged holes in its accounts in December 2017.

In its first presentation to investors since then, the retailer’s chief executive Louis du Preez said its “only way to survive” was to slim down into a pure investment holding company focused on retail.

Post by Keith on Aug 13, 2019 6:39:12 GMT -6

As Barneys struggles, fashion vendors try on alternative channels

PARIS/NEW YORK (Reuters) - When fashion label Prada (1913.HK) started demanding greater control over shop floor arrangements in U.S. department stores, Barneys New York, now mired in bankruptcy proceedings, was one of the few with enough swagger to resist.

The luxury retailer, respected by its well-heeled clients for its selection, said in interviews at the time it wanted to maintain its influence over buying the merchandise rather than ceding to a leased shop-in-shop controlled by the brand.

Prada eventually reintroduced its women’s styles to the department store after a three-year hiatus, and still counts Barneys as a wholesale partner, a person close to the label said.

Post by Keith on Aug 14, 2019 6:38:09 GMT -6

Past-due student loans, credit card debt could weigh on U.S. growth

NEW YORK (Reuters) - More people in the United States appear to be struggling to keep up with their credit card and student loan debt, which could put pressure on one of the strongest drivers of economic growth.

U.S. credit card balances grew to $868 billion in the second quarter, from $848 billion in the previous three months, and the proportion of those balances seriously past due is on the rise, according to Federal Reserve Bank of New York data released on Tuesday.

U.S. consumer debt has continued to hit new peaks, rising $192 billion, or 1.4%, to $13.86 trillion in the second quarter. The figure is higher than the previous peak of $12.68 trillion before the 2008 global financial crisis, according to the New York Fed’s U.S. household debt and credit report.

Post by Keith on Aug 14, 2019 6:38:49 GMT -6

Stocks wilt as bond markets flash recession warnings

LONDON (Reuters) - Stock markets slumped on Wednesday as Germany’s economy went into reverse, fuelling fears of global recession and slamming the brakes on a rally for equities after Washington delayed tariffs on some Chinese imports.

Europe’s biggest economy shrank 0.1% in the second quarter as the trade war and weak demand dragged on German manufacturers. The euro zone as a whole barely grew in the same quarter, with the 19-country bloc adding 0.2% - a slowdown from the first three months of the year.

The Euro STOXX 600 fell 1%. Markets in London .FTSE, Frankfurt .GDAXI and Paris FCHI lost between 0.8% and 1.5%. Wall Street futures gauges were also indicating losses of around 0.7%.

Post by Keith on Aug 14, 2019 6:39:38 GMT -6

Euro zone GDP slows in second-quarter as growth in Germany shrinks

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The euro zone’s GDP barely grew in the second quarter of 2019, data showed on Wednesday, as economies across the bloc lost steam and the largest, Germany, contracted thanks to a global slowdown driven by trade conflicts and uncertainty over Brexit.

European Union statistics office Eurostat said gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the 19-country euro zone was 0.2% in the second quarter versus the previous quarter, a slowdown from 0.4% percent in the first three months of 2019.

The GDP flash estimates numbers, including year-on-year growth of 1.1% from the second quarter of 2019, were in line with economists’ forecasts.

Post by Keith on Aug 14, 2019 6:40:24 GMT -6

UK inflation unexpectedly overshoots BoE target in July

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s inflation rate unexpectedly overshot the Bank of England’s 2% target on Wednesday, raising the cost of living even before sterling’s slide has had much chance to feed into consumer prices.

Annual consumer price inflation rose to a three-month high of 2.1% in July from 2.0% in June, the Office for National Statistics said, bucking the average expectation in a Reuters poll of economists for a fall to 1.9%.

The older measure of retail price inflation - which this month will determine increases in many rail fares for 2020 - edged down to 2.8% from 2.9%, in line with forecasts.

Post by Keith on Aug 14, 2019 6:41:01 GMT -6

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s economy stumbled more sharply than expected in July, with industrial output growth cooling to a more than 17-year low, as the intensifying U.S. trade war took a heavier toll on businesses and consumers.

Activity in China has continued to cool despite a flurry of growth steps over the past year, raising questions over whether more rapid and forceful stimulus may be needed, even if it risks racking up more debt.

After a flicker of improvement in June, analysts said the latest data was evidence that demand faltered across the board last month, from industrial output and investment to retail sales.